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Guiding Light Weekly Blog.

Monday, July 20 2009

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Blogging From The Beacon.

Thoughts on the week of July 13-17.

The Bill and Lizzie wedding continued on Monday. But since I already talked about that last time, I won't say anymore. Of course, they weren't the only ones to tie the knot. Remy and Christina got married again. They each pretended to be drunk, assuming the other would not marry them again otherwise. Then, not wanting to flinch, they both pretended they wanted to have the marriage annulled. Before they could, he changed his mind, leaped into the courtroom and they exchanged vows. It was silly and fun, providing a nice way for the show to pass from the wedding to the more grim matters in town without too much of a jolt. It continued the couple's tradition of doing everything backwards, although it's a trick that's starting to spread a little thin.

It also allowed for Cyrus and Mel to continue their flirtation. At least it gave them something to do since both of those characters have seemed rather stranded. Mel's been stranded, arguably, for years and he's been essentially a kind of... I'm not even sure what he is. Since Harley left and the vigor was sucked out of him, he's sort of loafed around acting like a character rejected from a Frank Capra movie: The reformed criminal who became a has-been guardian angel (to Daisy, his brother, Buzz etc.).

Where Cyrus is settling as a character now, would have seemed like purgatory to the same character only two years ago. That's exactly where Mallet's probably thinking that he is right now. He's never looked as tortured as when his suspicions about the murder focused on his wife. Even when Dinah was shot, he didn't seem so bothered. The tortured and miserable version of Mallet and Marina is remarkably different from their previous incarnations and it has been a pleasant surprise. I've never like Marina, but lately she's become interesting. I still don't like her, but that's an improvement nonetheless. Being a mother has made her angry, spiteful and selfish, all the things which weren't exactly expected. In general, a child reforms a character, sometimes after an obligatory bout of postpartum depression, although eventually their dark streak can come back in a nasty, overprotective way. Marina's leap came pretty quick. If they could only write her some biting one-liners she could be what the show now sorely lacks – a cynical, vicious and self-interested woman.

(Soaps.com)

News that Jeffrey is dead reached town. Marina took it quite well and put the blame for things on him. Is he really dead? Maybe. But after last week's weddings, I guess we were in store for a funeral. Will it be as inspired as the memorial they held for Edmund? Or will it be a more maudlin affair? So far, it's been interesting. Guiding Light is a show that plays grief to the hilt. They do it well. Sometimes too well. Things are different with Jeffrey though because he's always been kind of an outcast in town, no matter how intimately connected he was with many of the residents, especially the women. He was running after danger when he died, of course, which means that they will likely turn him into another of the town's growing army of saints.

There were some lighter things in the week too, even if they were tinged with a certain sadness. Phillip giddily convinced his father and son to go on a camping trip with him. It quickly turned into a series of arguments and generational sniping. Since this is going to continue this week, I'm not going to say anything else about it, but so far it's been nice. It's a genuine pleasure to watch the three of them together.

Anyway, those were my thoughts about last week. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below and remember that this is all in fun.